DA Davidson Issues Negative Estimate for Hershey Earnings

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) – DA Davidson decreased their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Hershey in a report issued on Thursday, October 24th. DA Davidson analyst B. Holland now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $2.48 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.71. The consensus estimate for Hershey’s current full-year earnings is $9.47 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hershey’s FY2024 earnings at $9.38 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $9.11 EPS.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on HSY. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $179.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.80.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $182.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.88. The company has a market cap of $36.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Hershey has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.